Riviera Gold

A Novel

By: Laurie R. King

Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin

Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's Summary

Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes turn the Riviera upside-down to crack their most captivating case yet in the New York Times best-selling series that Lee Child called "the most sustained feat of imagination in mystery fiction today."

It's summertime on the Riviera, where the Jazz Age is busily reinventing the holiday delights of warm days on golden sand and cool nights on terraces and dance floors. Just up the coast lies a more traditional pleasure ground: Monte Carlo, where fortunes are won, lost, stolen, and hidden away. 

So when Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes happen across the Côte d'Azur in this summer of 1925, they find themselves pulled between the young and the old, hot sun and cool jazz, new friendships and old loyalties, childlike pleasures and very grownup sins....

©2020 Laurie R. King (P)2020 Recorded Books

Not worth the wait

I rarely provide reviews, however I felt it was important to share how utterly disappointing it was to look forward to the release of this audio book, only to have it be delayed for months on end, and then when it finally was released .... Bleh. Not only was the story not up to King's usual standards, but the audio recording itself was choppy - parts of one chapter repeated itself and there were obvious re-recordings that didn't match in tone or volume. I forced myself to get through it and I can say this will be last of Ms. King's books that I pre order.

Hmmm....I waited so long...

Just my opinion... lacking intrigue... lacking the beauty of geography found in
The Moor,
The Game,
Dreaming Spies
and
Jerusalem.

However... i am looking forward to the next book.

tedious

I have read all the Mary Russel books. This was really tedious and hard to finish.

Ms King phoned this one in

The most plodding of the series. Mary has become a judgmental snob. With never a care for funds, she regularly disparages the idle rich that she comes across. Other women are all. Inferior to her in intelligence and taste. Sherlock shows up much too late in the story and only seems to be a foil for Mary's daring. Previous books showcased their teamwork, this seemed intent on proving that Mary could succeed despite Holmes.

Always wonderful

A slow start, but the relationship between Mary Russell and Holmes still carries a spark of brightness few authors in this Sherlock Holmes redo genre can even venture to approach as well.

Problems with sound quality

There are several spots where the sound abruptly changes quality. Those changes disrupt the continuity.

Not enough Holmes

I didn’t enjoy this as much as other Russell/Holmes stories. One if the best parts of these stories for me is the interplay in the relationship between the two. This story is mostly Mary. I also didn’t like the American accents in the performance. And parts of it had tedious detail.

OK, but not up to expectations or past books.

I've read every Laurie King books in order since Beekeepers Apprentice, and love the series. Yet, I found Riviera to be disappointing, though I still enjoyed much of it. The first third of the book, however, almost lost me, as I found myself rather bored. (At least half of it could've been cut without loss to the later story.) But I pushed on & the story did improve. It was interesting to learn more about [LK's version of] Mrs. Hudson and the adventure that followed. Anyway, I still look forward to the next book.

25% into book and nothing is happening

At the 3 hour mark, nothing, absolutely nothing had happen. Quite a slow slog to get into the story. Plus characters have developed through previous stories to be people I just don't like. Sherlock is always mercurial, but Ms. King has twisted him into an ultra suspicious, spiteful and controlling individual. My heart goes out to Mrs. Hudson for living under his thumb for 4+ decades. Magic is gone. Will revisit and treasure the earlier books in the series.

Keep Listening

It is a little slow getting off the ground, but hang in there. An engaging story will unfold entertaining you for hours.

Disappointing

Waited so long for this and saved it up for Christmas so was very disappointed to find it far from her best, in fact a bit tedious in places. Hope the next one returns to her usual excellent form.

running out of steam.......

It seems the author is running out of steam, this audiobook got going briefly in the middle then went downhill again.
I still don't know how the author got away with the use of these characters, not doing justice to them and the incredulity these books inspire is a strange mix. The books are best if you forget about the great Conan Doyle stories, it's no use getting annoyed at what the author has done to 'our beloved Holmes. Watson et al . I listen to them because I can give them back, Riviera is perhaps a tale too far, boring and long winded in parts, an average whodunnit !

Too much Russell not enough Holmes/Russell

Bit slow at start but very exciting eventually.
Would have liked more Holmes/Russell working together. Narrator's Holmes voice much too posh. Bit disappointing overall.